1. Field of the Invention
The present Rooster Boot invention relates to an ankle foot orthosis designed for increasing the range of motion and correcting the alignment of a patient's foot and ankle. The applicant's novel dynamic orthosis creates a variable load stretch at the ankle to prevent contracture of the heel cord. The orthosis is utilized during rest, sleep, and weight bearing therapy. An adjustable power pack assembly provides the necessary force to bring the foot into a dorsi flexed position.
This dynamic design has been of particular benefit to children with spasticity or weakening muscles (these conditions are often seen in cerebral palsy and with muscle weakness. The child patients are generally confronted with muscle imbalance. Their muscles do not work together as normal children's do. Their spasticity, or weakness makes some muscles overpower other muscles, and create unwanted pulls or forces on their joints. This imbalance of muscle pulls, can create contracture and misalignment of involved joints and related structures. If this misalignment is not corrected, it will eventually lead to permanent deformity in the child, or planter flexion distorsion in the heel cord (Achilles Tendon).
Planter flexion is a normal position when the foot is flexed downward. A spastic contracture of the posterior tibial muscles (calf), can hold the foot in that position and produce a shortening of the heel cord (Achilles Tendon). This type of positioning can also be seen when there is a weakening in the anterior muscles below the knee. This shortened heel cord can generate additional undesirable positions, which can lead to permanent deformity if not treated.
2. Description of the Related Prior Art
The prior art relates generally to conventional static orthosis support systems that are rigid and inflexible while limiting the motion. They are often restrictive and cumbersome to the patient.
Even the dynamic prior art has inherent design flaws, causing the ankle and foot orthosis boot devices to be both heavy and cumbersome to the patient wearer, while providing limited monitoring control and adjustment.
By contrast the Rooster Boot is light weight, non-cumbersome, and provides circumferential support and dynamic stabilizing forces. It will provide range of motion improvements for dorsiflexion, as well as preventing spastic contracture shortening of the heel cord, which can lead to deformity.
The novel adjustable lock feature of the subject invention provides the practitioner the ability to adjust the range of motion in both dorsi and planter flexion. No other prior art orthotic device provides the unique features of the subject Rooster Boot ankle foot orthosis, in a simplified, and lightweight functional design.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,036,837; 5,749,840 to Mitchell, et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,469 to Patchel, et al. teach and describe an adjustable heavy and cumbersome adjustable coiled leaf spring pivotal joint dynamic splint with adjustable elongated strut assemblies that is excessively bulky for the boot patient wearer, and is not designed for ambulation.
Similarly, Patent Application number 20050070834 to Herr, Blaya, and Pratt describes an active ankle foot orthosis to treat ankle foot gait pathology used for foot drop. It incorporates a heavy, bulky, and expensive design with torsional springs, and spring damper positional control. Application number 20050070834, does not teach nor describe the applicant's novel invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,360 to Janke teaches and describes sets of cam members in matching pairs used interchangeably for controlling range of motion in plantar flexion and dorsiflexion. It does not have an adjustable force mechanism to provide stretch as in the applicants invention, and does not claim the applicants Rooster Boot novel features.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,486,157 to DiBenedetto teaches and describes, but does not claim an elastic strap. Also, it does not provide the adjustable lock assembly mechanism for the range of motion control in dorsi and planter flexion.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,101,346 B1 to Davis teaches and describes a dynamic response ankle-foot orthosis with laminating mechanical joints to the medial and lateral aspects of a brace, and providing cutouts in the lamination just anterior and posterior to the ankle joint axis of motion. It does not teach nor claim the adjustable lock range of motion in dorsi and planter flexion, of the subject patent application.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,182,743 B2 to Slautterback et al teaches and describes a foot splint to provide for maintaining a wearer's foot and his plantar fascia, in preselected dorsiflexion, providing for restful sleep, but does not address the dynamic range of motion features of the subject invention to prevent contracture.